In Part Twelve, we suggested harnessing the motivation that has led courts to refer cases to settlement conferences or to insist on private mediation in favor of an alternative – a plan regularly to refer cases sufficiently complex to benefit from active case management for oversight by a special master.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has ruled that an arbitrator did not exceed his authority when he analyzed whether a contract was formed because the parties substantially participated in arbitral proceedings without contesting the issue.

Texas’s Fourth District Court of Appeals in San Antonio has ruled that a firefighter was collaterally estopped from challenging arbitration in a dispute over his medical benefits.

Recognizing the importance that adapting the process so that the marketplace continues to appreciate and use it, there are a number of trends that will impact the future of mediation in the court system: